The Moto Wanderer: Crinkly's Portugal trip day 4: Off to Coimbra (2/12/19)

Enjoy a quick breakfast at the hostel before checking out and making it over to the bus stop to take it to the train station. We are sitting there and the bus drives by, a lady who was watching us tell us you have to hail the bus for it to stop and pick you up (which after thinking about it, that is how most buses operate and we just werent thinking). We look at the bus schedule and its a wash for which would be quicker at this point, walking or waiting on the next bus, so we decide to walk and see more of the city. Head out using our map to guide us and walk through some pretty neighborhood streets (mostly down hill) as we go towards the train station. Catch our train and get into Coimbra. Walk to the Portagem Coimbra hostel to check in but there is no door person (we are before receiving hours) so we check out a luggage storage place down the street and it is too expensive for our tastes, so we just hike around with our bags and see the city to pass time until we can check in.

Crinkly is happy to be in a new city again.

Building art we find as we walk around town

Crinkly enjoying the view of Coimbra on this sunny day as we walk around.

Crinkly enjoying the old building facades and getting hungry as we walk by all these cafes.

Found a beautiful church on our walk.

Mural inside the church.

Church is as beautiful inside as out.

Impressive looking organ inside the church.

Crinkly ready for a lil snack inside the church's cafeteria.

My walking formation when I have my bags.

Some of the stone work on the outside of the church

Some of the tile art in the Hostel

Rooftop patio of the hostel. Pretty nice place to chill.

View across the river from our patio. Believe that is a convent at the top of the hill across the way.

Eventually we make our way to the Santa Cruz Church which has a nice little cafe attached to it so we go in and have a bite to eat and some drinks. Since we are close to the hostel, we call them and are able to now drop our bags off, but not check in yet, which is fine as it allows us to offload most of our weight and start seeing more of the city. This time we head in a different direction and make our way to the university which is right near our hostel. To get there we have to go up this seemingly ever lasting and like 70 degree incline staircase up the hill; it was impressively steep. Get to the university and do a tour of the library and church attached to the main quad area (over looking the city and the river flowing through it) before stumbling upon the law building which had signs for a bar inside so we go in and have a beer and some snacks in the cafeteria.

This looks like the staircase we are supposed to take up the hill.

Here goes nothing

Yeah thats a steep climb and a long way down.

View out from the top having reach university grounds

The quad with the library and chapel to the left and the main hall straight ahead.

Crinkly walking around the quad, using steph as a person for scale on the building.

Exit from the library. Arent allowed to take pics in there but it is beautiful.

Another amazing looking door.

Church was undergoing some renovations but still insanely beautiful inside.

Try and ignore the scaffolding but look at that ceiling.

Crinkly enjoying one last view of the church before we head out.

Actual door knocker we found on someone's door.

Went into the main hall where Crinkly was enjoying checking out the ceremonial items used in graduation ceremonies for graduate studies I believe.

As we explored the grounds, came upon some old books, makes sense it being a university and all

One of the rooms in the main hall area. Very ornate and pretty.

If I remember right, this is the room where they do the defense of their dissertation.

Found some peaceful outdoor spaces as we walked around the grounds.

Also found some artwork

Came upon another church as we walked around.

Crinkly wanted a picture with this building

This town is full of old architecture and quaint little streets to explore.

Found the entryway, lets go check it out. Turns out there was a charge to go in so we turned back around and decided to keep exploring the area,

Tiny walk way on campus.

We were there for some kind of graduation period as students all over campus were dressed up and taking pictures.

Really liked this picture with the shade encroaching on the church. Not sure why, nothing special about it.

Slightly bigger church on campus than the first one we went to.

The doors to enter with some awesome carpentry.

Would love to know how long all this took. So many little details.

The art up in the Coppola.

Crinkly paying his respects as we get ready to head out and continue on our journey.

Crinkly enjoying the bamboo forest.

I came to appreciate the beauty of bamboo forests here. Something very relaxing about being here.

Once refreshed, we go explore the attached garden which has a little bamboo forest among other areas to explore - was ok but I imagine in spring/summer there is probably more flowers and pretty things to see. Exit the garden down the hill near the river so we walk along it, grab some beers and sit along the wall of the river and relax for a bit enjoying the day. As sun is setting, we go back to the hostel to check into our room and get recommendations for dinner and after. Were going to go to Hilario Fado as it was highly recommended (right around the corner from the hostel) so we stumble into Maria Portuguesa for dinner. Was a small place with a very cozy atmosphere, great food, a large craft beer selection (tried a few), and just overall a delicious and wonderful experience.

University area we just came down from.

Crinkly enjoying the still water of the river and the evening views.

Steph enjoying basking in the sun.

Crinkly and I going to find some beers to enjoy in the park.

Looking back up towards the university area.

Crinkly has the urge to do some boating but had to tell him that now is not the time.

Its as if this place read my mind. Had a good selection so I grabbed a few beers and headed back to the part to join up with Steph.

Crinkly enjoying the sunset and the mirrorlike views on the river.

Bridge over untroubled waters

View of Coimbra on the other side of the river.

Such a beautiful evening.

After dinner we decide to make our way across the city to A capella fado which was an amazing experience. Was a guy singing and another guy playing instruments and both were incredibly well trained (very professional compared to the bar fado experience we had a few days ago - both great just incredibly different from each other) and made some beautiful music, the room made to boost the quality through its acoustics. Eventually the bar closes and we walk across town back to our hostel through a dead city (no one was out on the street as it is a small university town and this area of town wasnt very night life driven).